While sitting up late awaiting the election results, this hackneyed one-liner kept taunting me: “Whoever you vote for, the government always gets in”. That is, until I came up with a more reassuring version: “In a democracy, whoever you vote for, the people get in”. That’s all very well if you live in a nation where most people are kind, honest, decent, and peaceful. Fortunately, three recent acts of kindness confirmed my belief in the essential goodness of the general British public.
- When on a day out in Bath, I tripped over a crooked paving stone and landed flat on my face, people came rushing to my aid from all directions. One lady quizzed me to make sure my fall was not precipitated by a blackout or stroke. Another produced a handful of tissues to mop up the blood streaming from my nose, which had taken the brunt of my fall, (for which my teeth were grateful). Another escorted me to her café for a restorative cup of tea on the house.
- Boarding a crowded train at Chippenham, I expected to have to stand all the way to London. The previous train had been cancelled due to “animals on the line”. (What kind of animals? I wanted to know.) I was therefore pleasantly surprised when a student from Bath University, according to his tote bag, courteously insisted I take his seat. His manner was so diplomatic that he made me feel I was the one doing him a favour, instead of the other way around.
- After a hectic, hot day in London, I was waiting at Paddington Station beneath the departures board to learn the platform of my homebound train. A young woman asked me to look after her luggage while she went to get a coffee. Reluctantly I declined, saying I’d have to dash for my train at any moment. When I added that I hoped there’d be a buffet car because I was parched, she laid a hand on my arm with a look of genuine concern that I might be about to keel over, and offered to run and buy me a bottle of water before my train was called.
Such evidence of the general decency of the British public is especially reassuring in times of political uncertainty. It’s also a much more heartening conclusion than the alternative: that I must be looking alarmingly old and frail lately for so many people to be solicitous for my well-being.
I know which I prefer to believe.
This post was written for the August 2024 issue of the Hawkesbury Parish News.
IN OTHER NEWS
One of the many themes of my novels is encouraging people to be kinder and more understanding towards others. That may sound strange, considering they’re murder mysteries, but they are gentle, feel-good tales at the “cosy” end of the mystery writing spectrum.
This is also true of my new book, Death at the Old Curiosity Shop, which will be launched in all formats on 11th October and is already up for preorder on many platforms, eg Amazon here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Old-Curiosity-Shop-page-turning-ebook/dp/B0D65KBP1S/. In this first of my new Cotswold Curiosity Shop series, nothing and no-one are quite what they seem. Alice Carroll, the new proprietor of the old bric-a-brac shop, must delve beyond her first impressions to find the truth and solve the curious mystery at the heart of the novel.
The Dickens allusion is intentional, by the way. When you read it, you’ll see I’ve had a bit of fun with allusions to one of the characters in his classic novel, The Old Curiosity Shop. There’s also a surprise in store that will make fans of Dickens’ novel smile.
But you don’t need to be a Dickens fan to enjoy Death at the Old Curiosity Shop! Like all my novels, it’s an easy, quick, lighthearted read, filled with eccentric characters and plenty of humour, sent in an appealing Cotswold village – in this case, Little Pride.
My publisher, Boldwood Books, officially unveiled the cover this week, and I just love it! I’m looking forward to seeing how the branding for this new trilogy develops. I’m already writing the sequel, and all three books will be released in quick succession.
Pre-order the first book now to get ahead of the game!
